Gas-purification process



C. J. RAMSBURG GAS PURIFICATION PROCESS Sept. lo, 1929.

Filed Sept. 8, 1925 All Cil

Patented Sept. 10, 1.929.'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

CHARLES J. RAMSBURG, OF PITTSBURGH,

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE KOP- PERS COMPANY, OFv PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

GAS-PURIFICATION PROCESS.

Application led September 8, 1923. Serial No. 661,695.

This invention relates tol the removal of hydrogen sulphide and other noxious constituents, such as hydrocyanic acid, from gases containing them. An object of the invention is to provide an improved process for treating such gases, whereby not only the bull; of the hydrogen sulphide is removed but even the last traces of it, with the result that it will be found unnecessary to subject the purified gas to any treatment in the usual iron oxide boxes.

The invention is of particular utility in conl nection with a gas purification process operating generally in accordance with that process described and claimed in the prio),1 Letters Patent of the United States of David L. Jacobson, for process for purifying gases, No. 1,390,037 granted September 6, 1921. Such Jacobson gas purification liquid process includes bringing the gas to be purified into directl Contact with an alkaline absorbent agent, such as solution of sodium carbonate, to absorb the noxious constituents from the gas, and then subjecting the absorbent agent I containing the absorbed impurities to aeration to remove the absorbed impurities and to regenerate the absorbent agent so as to render it available for further gas purification. rIhe present invention, however, is not confined to the process just referred to, but is broadly' applicable to a variety of processes based on the employment of liquid media for gas purification.

vA processl such as that of the above mentioned prior patent may be practiced in two essential parts of apparatus, i. e., the'chamber in which the gas is brought into contact with the purifying liquid, and the chamber in which the liquid containing the absorbed impurities is regenerated. In' practice the first chamber is designated as the absorber and the second the actifier, These two terms 'will be employed inthe following description.

The removal of the last traces of the hydrogen sulphide from the gas is a requirement that most gas companies must meet, being imposed by law4 in most places. By this invention, there is provided a process and apparatus whereby the last traces of hydrogen sulphide are removed from the gas by a system of liquid purification, complete in itself, without any resort whatever to ordinary iron oxide purification `of the gas discharged from the liquid purification plant. Hydrocyanic illustrative instances. The ligure is an ele- 'vational view, partially diagrammatic, of

one form of apparatus for carrying out the improved process of the invention.

In its present embodiment, the invention is applied to the purification of coke oven gas, and, for convenience, the present description will be confined to this use of the invention. Features of the invention are, however, applicable to other useful applications, for example, to other gases. Consequently, the invention is not confined in scope to the specific use and embodiment herein described as an illustrative example.

The primary system hereinafter referred to is whatever liquid purification system may be employed for removing the bulk of the above-mentioned impurities from the gas, the present invention then being employed to remove the rremaining traces of such impurities and constituting the secondary system; and the particular primary system hereinafter referred to as an illustrative example, but-without limitation thereto, is that of the above-mentioned Jacobson.

aiiinity which a water solution of sodiuml carbonate has for hydrogen sulphide and because of thel cheapness and availability of i this sodium salt. A solution ofsodium carbonate is strongly basic in its properties. When sodium carbonate dissolved in water is brought into contact with gas, such as coke oven gas, containing carbonl dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide is absorbed, andsodium bicarbonate is formed, as may for eXample,.be. illustrated by the following explanation:

` The solution of sodium carbonate will also effect the absorption from the gas of such sulphur Compounds as hydrogen sulphide, HZS. The absorption of hydrogen sulphide may be illustrated by the following equation:

In applying the above to the absorption of sulphur from a gas, it is preferable to usea dilute solution of sodium carbonate in water. A concentration from about two to about live pereentum of sodium carbonate will usually be found satisfactory.

In such preferred primary system the regeneration of the solution containing the absorbed impurities in the primary actifier may be illustrated by the following equations:

aNaHcoa: Nace3 co2 +H2o Quarts+co2+H2o=Na2oo3+2H2s and also NarroossL NaHs=Na2co3+H2s The rapid and thorough aeration great-ly promotes the foregoing reactions by rapidly removing the gaseous products, as well as checking the formation of thiosulphates, and the solution gives up its hydrogen sulphide and is rejuvenated. Instead of air, another' similarly inert gas may be used in the primary actifier.

In such primary system, the gas to be purilied is iirst passed through the primary absorber, and there is brought into contact with a solution of sodium carbonate pumped from a primary sump through pipes and sprays. The impure gas enters the bottom of the primary absorber and the gas from which the A number of the combulk yof the impurities have been removed discharges from the top of the primary absorber. The solution containing the absorbed impurities from the bottom of the primary absorber runs through pipes and is discharged by sprays into the top of the primary aetitier. There the absorbed impurities are removed by means of air blown into Vthe bottom of the ac- 'tifien The air escapes through a stack passing from the top of the primary actiier up through the middle of the primary absorber. The solution thus regenerated runs into the primary sump and is used over and over.

again. The major portion of the impurities are removed from the gas 1n the primary absorber, and the remaining lesser portion are removed by the secondary system of the present invention, employing a correspondingly smaller bulk of liquid which has undergone a special treatment, as hereinafter illustra tively described.

The present invention is a development o f the complete purification process of the aforesaid Bird application, but differs 'from Birds specific embodiment-.of his generic invention. According to the present invention, a portion of the actified solution may be withdrawn from the primary system to supply the secondary system; but, in the secondary system instead of allowing only air forregenerating the solution, heating is employed in addition to the air. This has the advantage of reducing the quantity lof air necessary in the secondary actiiier. The employment of heat possesses the advantage that it gives to the soda solution a higher partial pressure with respect to hydrogen sulphide, thereby greatly simplifying the process of removing the hydrogen sulphide by aeration. Heat may be supplied either to the solution or to the air, or to both, as desired, the same object being attained in any case.

It has been found to be most convenient and economical to operate in such a way that approximately 90% of the hydrogen sulphide and hydrocyanic acid are removed fromthe gas in the primary system. Absolute purification is difficult of accomplishment iu a single stage system of this sort Without very greatly decreasing its capacity. When a single `stage liquid purification system is employed, a little hydrogen sulphide remains in the form of alkaline hydro-sulphide in the solution going from the a'ctiiier D to the primarysump B. In order to use this solution to remove the last traces of hydrogen llO sulphidefrom the gas, in the second stage of the process, the last traces of hydrosulphides contact with the gas. Analogous considerations apply to hydroeyanic acid and cyanide compounds.

In mechanical details of operation and construction this process does not ditler greatly from that ot Birds already cited, save in the introduction of heat to the solution t0 be acticd, and in the reduction of the amount of ulation need not be very exact, in general a4 higher temperature requires at the same time less air, and a-lower temperature more air, so that considerable iexibility in operation may be obtained. A preferred average temperature for the incoming air, and for the solution inthe actitier is approximately 50 C. (122 F.) ybut it an ample supply of4 exhaust steam is available a higher temperature may be more suitable. ITE desired, the airV may be saturated with moisture at this temperature prior to its introduction into'the actilier. In this manner cooling in the actitier due to evaporation of the solution is diminished.

This process possesses a very important advantage over the use ot air alone for actication because of the great reduction in the amount of air which must be blown through -the solution. This process may reduce the amount et air to approximately 30-40% of that required by the process of Bird, with a corresponding reduction in operating expense. This reduction in the amount of air which must be blown through 'the solution permits a reduction inthe size o1 the apparatus used, thereby reducing construction costs. Moreover, since it is much cheaper to pump the solution over a small tower, pumping costs are reduced.

The details of the process will be understood by reference to the attached sketch. The partially actied solution of the primary system ispumped by pump C 'from the primary sunip B through the exhaust steam heater E where its temperature is raised as desired, then over the secondary or inal actilier F where it is brought in intimate Contact with air and flows by gravity to the secondary sump G. It may then be pumped intermittently over the secondary or inal absorber J. Such intermittent pumping of the actiiied solution to the iinal absorber is preferable for the reason that much better distribution of the solution over the material in the nal absorber can'be obtained by pumping a large volume in a short time than by pumping a small volume continuously. From this iinal labsorber J the solution is returned to the primary system. In the actiier F, countercurrent to the solution flow, there is blown a current of air which .may be preheated and humiditied in K. `A'portion of the heat carried out of the actiier F by the exit air mayv be conserved b use of the air-solution-heat exchanger L. hrough this, 'cold actified solution from the primary system may be assed in such a manner as to absorb heat rom the hot exit air. The warm primary solution thus obtained may then'be passed to the primary absorber. This heat may assist in preventing naphthalene stoppages in the primary absorber. Temperature regulation in this primary system may be secured by bypassing any desired proportion of the solution around heat exchanger L, Aas shown.

The preheating of the air, and the recovery of the heat from the exit air may or may not be practiced or desired, without in any way departing from the spirit of this invention.

The invention as hereinabove set forth may be variously embodied within the scope of the claims hereinafter made.

I claim:

l. The process of purifying gases, which consists in passing the gas through a mass of non-reacting solid material permeable by and drenched with a solution reactive to the impurities in the gas, discharging the vsolution lfrom the non-reacting material,.regenerating it by heating and aeration, an-d intermittently drenching-the non-reacting material with the i'iegenerated solution; substantially as specie 2. The process of removing hydrogen sulphide constituents from gases, which consists in: passing the gas through a mass of non-reacting solid material permeable by and drenched with a solution reactive to the hydrogen sulphide impurities inthe gas, disehar ing the solution, regenerating it by,

heatin and aeration, and intermittently drenchmg the non-reacting material with the egienerated solution; substantially as `specie y 3. In a process for the purification of vlgas that involves circulating a liquid' absorbent agent continuously through a gas purification stage and a regeneration stage, withdrawing a portion ot' the regenerated liquid 'from the regeneration stage, removing last traces of impurities A.trom it by subjecting it to a secondary aeration in a filler which presents "a multitude of minute openings to the iow of media and eiects intimate contact of t-he heated solution with secondary aeration gas, and linally bringing it into contact with the gas from the gas purification stage to remove the last traces of impurities, the imrovement which comprises heating the Witliv fawn portion of the regenerated liquid prior to said secondary aeration.

4. In a process for the purification of gas that involves circulating a liquid absorbent agent Continuously through a gas puriioation stage and an aeration stage, withdrawing :1 portion of the liquid from the primary aeration stage, subjecting it to further aeration while the solution is distributed over a very large surface and has a higher partial pressure, and finally bringing it into Contact with the gas from the gas puriication stage to remove in a inal secondary purication stagel the last traces of impurities, the improvement which comprises subjecting the Withdrawn portion of the liquid from the primary aeration stage to heat as Well as aeration during sai-d further aeration.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand.,

CHARLES J. RAMSBURG,

13e-'asse 

